The News reporter Ahmed Noorani was assaulted by unidentified assailants in Islamabad’s Zero Point area on Friday morning, police said.

The attackers assaulted Noorani and his driver with knives near Urdu University. Both the injured were taken to Poly Clinic for treatment, police said, and are said to be in a stable condition despite sustaining wounds to the head.

Pakistan ranks 139 out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index 2017 compiled by Reporters Without Borders, placing it among the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists.

Politicians and colleagues took to condemning the attack on the journalist on Twitter.

Noorani’s colleague Syed Talat Hussain described the attack as “shameful”.

“[The] threat to journalists hasn’t been clearer, more present and more apparent,” he said.